Snow falling on Mount Charleston; rain expected for Las Vegas

Students carry umbrellas as they leave Bartlett Elementary School during light rain in Henderson Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012. The storm system is expected to bring up to a half-inch of rain this afternoon and evening across the Las Vegas Valley.

Sun weather coverage

Mount Charleston is getting a holiday snow cap, with just under an inch accumulating shortly before noon in the community 25 miles west of Las Vegas.

By this evening, the Pacific storm moving into the area could bring as much as a foot of snow to the summit of the 11,916-foot Charleston Peak, said Ryan Metzger, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

Meanwhile, the storm system is expected to bring up to a half-inch of rain this afternoon and evening across the Las Vegas Valley, Metzger said.

“It’s going to be widespread across town,” Metzger said. “It’s going to continue on into the evening and the late overnight hours.”

The main hazards in the valley will be slick roads and ponding on streets, but no flooding is expected.

The weather service issued a winter storm warning from 1 p.m. today to 10 a.m. Friday for the mountains in Clark County and for mountains in southern Mohave County in Arizona.

“For areas above 5,000 feet, we could see 4 to 8 inches of snow,” Metzger said.

The storm could bring 6 to 12 inches of snow to the higher elevations.

Snow began falling at about 8 a.m. today in the Spring Mountains, including in the town of Mount Charleston and at the Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort.

The resort’s webcam showed about an inch of snow had fallen by late morning.

Roads that could become snow-covered and hazardous today include State Routes 156, 157 and 158 in the Spring Mountains and Interstate 40 east of U.S. Highway 93 in Mohave County in Arizona, Metzger said.

Mount Charleston ResortOnly 30 minutes from the Las Vegas Strip, but a world away in atmosphere, the Resort on Mount Charleston is a rustic and relaxing pet-friendly hotel retreat high in the mountains of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. Surrounded by mountains, the air is crisp, the average temperature is 20 degrees cooler than Las Vegas all year round, and the resort offers breathtaking views and outdoor activities for every season. The A Cut Above restaurant is open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday through Thursday and until 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The restaurant also offers gourmet boxed lunches to take with you outdoors. The Bistro features fresh coffee.
The bar and lounge is open 2:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, from 8 a.m. to 3 a.m. Friday and Saturday and from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday.